Rhea: Anything can get into my routine

Editor's note: This is a concert preview, but it can be made into normal feature by taking out a couple sentences.

It’s everyday things that make Caroline Rhea laugh.

The other day, according to the stand-up comedian who is coming to Fox Theatre at Foxwoods Resort Casino Saturday, she found a bit of hilarity at her hair salon.

A woman was spending $3,000 on hair extensions.

“Three thousand dollars!” stressed Rhea in a telephone interview. But then comes the inevitable punch line.

The woman was a stripper, said Rhea, so she told her: “I don’t think they’ll be looking at your hair.”

Whether or not Rhea got a nasty glare or not is anyone’s guess, but it’s probable to assume it will end up in one of Rhea’s comedy acts, which “enlighten the world from the woman’s perspective,” Rhea said.

“It’s a woman’s world,” said Rhea, who is well-known for her role as Aunt Hilda on the sitcom “Sabrina The Teenage Witch.”

Recently, she was in Italy, at the Vatican, and a slew of American kids spotted her, shouting, “Witch, witch!”

She told them to shush, she said.

“Not a good thing -- we were at the Vatican,” she joked.

Rhea, a native of Montreal, moved to New York in 1989 to study comedy at the New School of Social Research and trained at the comedy club, Catch a Rising Star.

Her career blossomed and she appeared on “MTV’s Half-Hour Comedy Hour,” “Comic Strip Live” and “Caroline’s Comedy Hour.” She hosted “The Caroline Rhea Show” as well as NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” a popular weight-loss reality TV series.

Rhea herself is weight-conscious, something she also cracks jokes about.

She recently observed herself having judgmental thoughts about her cleaning lady — thinking she looked as if she was getting chubby.

“Then I realized she was wearing my pants. I had to laugh,” Rhea said.

Effervescent and talkative, Rhea said she’s looking forward to performing at the casino.

“I love that we’re going to the casino; I love gambling because you talk to strangers, and I’m notorious for it,” she said.

Rhea will be coming with guest Costaki Economopoulos, but don’t expect the warm-up act to overshadow her.

A woman, said Rhea, has to work twice as hard to prove herself as a comic.

“When a man’s on-stage, the audience will automatically have more confidence that they’ll be funny.

"When you’re a woman, you have to prove yourself -- you earn it. You have the joy of doing a big show — they know who’s party they’re at.”

Reach Sharma Howard at 425-4235 or showard@norwichbulletin.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Caroline Rhea on stage.

When: 9 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Fox Theatre, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Route 2A, Ledyard.

Price: Tickets are $20 and $30.

For more information and tickets, call 800-200-2882 or visit www.foxwoods.com.

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